Palmyra's Collin Arch captures fourth Missouri state wrestling championship

Northern Illinois signee wins Missouri Class 1 title at 150 pounds

Palmyra senior Collin Arch won his fourth state title / Nate Latsch photo

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Before he took the mat for the Missouri Class 1 150-pound championship match on Thursday night at Mizzou Arena, Palmyra senior Collin Arch had already left his mark on his high school as the first three-time state champion in school history.

Then the Northern Illinois University signee added to his legacy by pinning Brookfield’s Colton Parn in just 1 minute 36 seconds to win his fourth state title – adding his name to the list of Missouri high school wrestlers to achieve that feat.

“I just feel blessed to even have the opportunity to come out here and get a fourth state title and just blessed with all my family and friends and all the support out there,” Arch said.

The Palmyra standout concluded his senior season with a 52-1 record and finished with a four-year record of 157-1 in his high school career with the four championships: at 120 as a freshman, 132 as a sophomore, 138 as a junior and 150 as a senior.

Arch, ranked 16th at 150 pounds in the latest SBLive Sports national high school wrestling rankings, was asked if there was a lot of pressure going into his final state championships seeking that fourth title.

“There’s definitely a lot of pressure,” he said, “but I just go out there and trust the work I’ve put in in the past and just once I step on the mat I know that I’ve put in the work and the stress and the nervousness kind of goes away.”

He certainly didn’t look nervous in dispatching Brookfield’s Parn, a junior who finished fourth at 145 pounds a year ago and entered the match with a 43-7 record this season.

Palmyra's Collin Arch takes down Brookfield's Colton Parn for two points / Nate Latsch photo

Arch recorded two takedowns and led 4-1 before pinning Parn at the 1:36 mark to add to his impressive high school resume.

There would be no wild celebration for the four-time champ, who got a hug from his coach and his arm raised high by the referee – which revealed that Arch had two of his fingers taped together on his left hand, making it harder to throw up four fingers to mark his feat.

“My finger’s been broke for a little bit,” Arch said, “but (the referee) raised the other hand so I had to throw up four with that hand. That’s how it goes.”

“I think it looks cooler like that,” he added, “but that’s just me.” 

Palmyra's Collin Arch throws up four fingers to note his fourth state championship.  / Nate Latsch photo

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